


The Stuff of Legends

by mrsfizzle



Category: DCU, Smallville, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Clark Kent and Lex Luthor Reconciliation, Communication, Drama, Fix-It, Friendship, Gen, Good Person Lex Luthor, Redemption, Some Humor, it's not bashing if it's canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:09:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27576328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrsfizzle/pseuds/mrsfizzle
Summary: After ending his friendship with Lex, the first person Clark spoke to was Lana. What if it had been Martha? Clark and Lex talk things out; Martha mediates.
Relationships: Clark Kent & Lex Luthor, Clark Kent & Martha Kent, Martha Kent & Lex Luthor
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	1. You did WHAT?

**Author's Note:**

> "Evidence, schmedivence. I go with my gut."  
> \- Gru, Despicable Me 2

Martha had been pacing in the kitchen for almost an hour when Clark trudged into the house. She breathed in to scold him for being home so late without even calling her to let her know he was alright, but one glance at his face stopped her. He looked heartbroken, and his lower lip was bleeding.

"Oh! Baby, what happened?" She cradled his face in her hand.

"I said good bye to an old friend."

Martha pulled him into her arms, rubbing his back. "Who did this to you?"

He was quiet for a moment before softly replying, "Lex."

" _Lex?_ " Martha held him at arm's length, frowning at his split lip. Lex had never seemed to be the violent type. She knew the tension between Clark and Lex had been high lately, but she didn't know it was _this_ high. "What happened?"

"You're not gonna believe it, Mom. You know how you and Dad and Lana got taken hostage today?"

"Yes?"

"Lex did it."

Martha shook her head. "But those were meteor mutants."

"Lex sent them. He made a deal with them and told them to ask me to get the serum from the LexCorp labs."

"But . . . why would he do that?"

"To get me to break into his lab, so that he could see me use my powers."

Clark had been right—she _didn't_ quite believe it. Thanks to Lionel, Lex was clearly damaged, and he had the scars and vices to prove it. He had investigated Clark, his history with women was disappointing at best, and he'd gotten himself involved in some questionable projects. But up until now, he'd always proved he was really trying to be a good man and a good friend to Clark—he'd risked his life quite a few times to try to save others. "H-how do you know he did this?"

"Chloe looked into it. He was also at Belle Reve the day the psychos escaped."

"Well, isn't his father at Belle Reve?"

"So?"

"So, he was probably visiting his father. How do you know he's connected to the patients escaping?"

"It's not just that. Chloe also found out he was watching us over the security cameras."

"Okay . . ." She waited for him to continue.

Clark just stood there.

"Clark?"

"What?"

"Um . . . _how_ do you know Lex planned this whole thing?"

"He was watching us!"

"Well, yes. You had to break into his lab and steal from him. It's a lab building with sensitive experiments, they have security cameras."

"Which he used to spy on me!"

"So . . ." She squinted. "That's all the evidence you have?"

"What more do I need?"

"But . . . all you know is that he visits his father at Belle Reve and that his lab has security cameras."

"And he used that against me!"

She raised her eyebrows. "You're saying he purposely released a mentally unstable kryptonite mutant, in the hopes that the mutant would make the connection between you and kryptonite, take our family hostage, demand the serum, and that that would force you to break into LuthorCorp, and _maybe_ you'd fail to take out one of the security cameras, so that Lex _might_ get to see you use your powers?"

"Now you know why I broke off our friendship."

Martha blinked a few times. "But Clark, does that sound like something Lex would do?"

"Yes! He's just like his father!"

Martha blinked a couple of times, bewildered. "Honey, even if he were willing, or wanting, to put our family in that much danger intentionally, he would have found a more certain way of doing it. He's _smart_. And . . . aren't you two best friends?"

"Not anymore. He put our family in danger, and he _hit_ me."

She frowned—Clark's lip _was_ bleeding. But as much as she wanted to comfort her son, she found herself questioning why Clark had thought to accuse Lex in the first place, so she had to ask: "Who threw the first punch?"

Clark looked down. "I did."

"And . . . how many times did you hit him before he hit back?"

Clark's jaw pulsed. "I don't know. Two or three. He blocked the last one."

Martha gasped. "How did it get to that point? I'm assuming you talked before you fought. What did you say?"

His cheeks turned pink. "Uh, we didn't talk first."

"You must have said something."

He shrugged. "Not really."

Her breath caught in her throat. "You mean to tell me you went into his house and just started throwing punches?"

"It sounds bad when you say it like that!"

"How else should I say it?" Where had she gone so wrong in her parenting that he could possibly believe that that was okay?

She _had_ once suggested to Clark that Lex might be Sageeth, the prophesied enemy of Naman. Since then, she'd regretted making the connection aloud. She prided her family on seeing the best in everyone. Jonathan had a strong, unyielding prejudice when it came to the Luthors, and Martha had been pleased that Clark didn't seem to have the same weakness. Ever since she'd suggested Lex might be Sageeth, though, Clark seemed to have developed that prejudice as well.

"Clark," Martha said, "maybe Lex had an explanation. He wouldn't have invited you over if he didn't have something to say to you."

"He didn't invite me in."

"Did . . . did you trespass?"

"Uh . . ."

"Did you have to sneak past security?"

His nostrils flared. "He _betrayed_ me! You should have seen the look on his face when he saw the security footage. He thinks I have powers!"

"You _do_ have powers!"

"You don't understand. He's obsessed. He's always asking about kryptonite mutants, about the stones of power, about me . . ."

"Sweetheart, he's seen a lot. I'm sure he's curious about the things you do. You can't blame him for that."

"Maybe not, but I can blame him for putting our family in danger."

She took a deep breath. "Okay, Clark. Let's say you're right. Let's say Lex really betrayed you. Is this how you handle people who might have hurt you? Trespass into their homes and beat them up?"

"How else am I supposed to deal with it?"

"By _talking!_ "

"You don't know what he's like, Mom. He's changed. You can't reason with him."

"Did you try?"

Clark's jaw clenched.

Martha gave him a piercing look. "This is completely unacceptable, Clark."

His face fell, but she let those words hover in the air between them for a long moment. If he was, deep down, the person she thought he was, the words would settle into his skin like acid—but he needed to hear them.

She silently counted to ten and began again. "You told me about that conversation the two of you had a few weeks ago. Didn't he all but beg you not to give up on him?"

"Yeah, but that was before . . ." His voice trailed off.

"Before what?"

"Before he endangered our family."

It was quiet for a moment.

Clark scowled. "Are you gonna make me _apologize_ to that monster?"

"I think you should find out if you need to apologize. Did he know why you were hitting him?"

"Yeah, I told him."

"What did he say?"

"I, uh . . . I don't really know."

"Because you weren't listening, or because you were hitting him too hard for him to respond?"

He looked away. "I shouldn't have talked to you about this."

She crossed her arms. "I'm glad you did. I think you should talk to him and make things right."

He groaned. " _Mom . . ._ "

"Don't even start with me, Clark Jerome Kent. You trespassed into his house. You threw the first punch. I know what you think he did, but I still don't understand why you think he did it. You have no evidence, and it doesn't make any sense."

"It's too late, Mom. I already ended our friendship. Please, can you just . . . can we drop this?"

Martha could hear her pulse in her ears. Jonathan had tried to shut her out in this way a couple of times. But she knew what to do about it.

She nodded. "Okay, Clark. If you're sure you did the right thing."

Clark grimaced.

"It's just . . . I'm disappointed, that's all."

"Mom?" His face fell, and his eyes begged Martha's.

She pulled him in for another quick hug, then let him go and patted his back. "It's late, and you have chores to do in the morning. Go on up to bed."

His eyes shone, but he obeyed. As soon as he was gone, she smirked to herself.

Twenty-four hours until he caved. Tops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your thoughts are always appreciated! I'm going to release this as a two-parter, but this may eventually become my dumping ground for one-shots in which Martha talks sense into people who *cough* desperately need it.
> 
> Also, thanks goes to jakrar for imploring me not to give up on this story, and for helping me figure out a direction for it :D


	2. A Rational Conversation

Martha was up before Clark was, but truth be told, she hadn't slept much the night before. When she wasn't feeling the effects of the trauma she'd experienced thanks to the hostage situation the day before, her mind kept going over the things Clark had said about Lex.

Martha had grown up reading about the Luthors in newspapers and tabloids, and she understood Jonathan's leeriness. Like her husband, she'd been more than a little suspicious when Lex suddenly became a big part of their lives, giving inappropriately inexpensive gifts to Clark and offering himself as an investor on the farm.

But Lex had won her respect when he'd stood down Earl Jenkins's gun at the plant, and he'd earned her gratitude when he saved Jonathan's life, as well as when he bought them the farm. Over the years, Clark had come home telling quite a few stories about things Lex had done. Jonathan always managed to twist it to minimize any good Lex had done, but with the exception of a few bad situations, Martha was usually impressed by the young man. The claims Clark had made the day before just didn't fit.

Clark came down the stairs as Martha was putting away her dishes from breakfast. She could tell by the puffiness around his eyes that he hadn't slept much. She hated having been the cause of that, but she was also glad to see that her words were having an effect on him. "Morning, sweetheart."

"Morning." He grabbed a box of cereal from the cupboard and the milk from the fridge, and she handed him a bowl and spoon.

"How'd you sleep?" she asked.

He plunked down at the table and poured the milk and cereal into the bowl. "Haven't slept well since I lost my powers."

She hummed softly and sat down across from him. "Your father's out working on the barn, but he said if you needed some extra time to rest, you should take it. We know it's a lot for you to get used to."

He mixed around the cereal in the bowl with his spoon for awhile, but didn't eat it. Finally, he looked up at her. "Are you still upset with me?"

"I didn't say I was upset. I said I was—"

"I know." He looked away. "Are you still . . ."

She sighed—that word had really hurt him, enough that he didn't want to use it even now. "A little, yeah. I guess I just don't understand what happened."

"Lex betrayed us."

"I don't understand how you know that."

"Mom . . . you just have to trust me on this one. You haven't been around him lately, you don't know what he's like. He's changed."

"Well, maybe I should go talk to him."

"Fine. Go over there and try to reason with him. Then you'll see how he's acting, and you'll understand."

"Maybe we should both go."

Clark shrugged. "He's just gonna blow us off."

"Well, we'll find out." She went over to grab her keys and jacket. "Let's go."

He put down his spoon. "Wait, now?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Why wait?"

"Well . . . it's early. He's probably busy."

"You didn't seem to mind whether he was busy when you went over there to beat him up."

"That was different!"

"Yes, it was. We're going to have a nice, rational, adult conversation."

Clark scoffed. "You don't know Lex."

"Let's go. Unless you want to finish your cereal first?"

Clark grumbled, but dumped the whole contents of his bowl into the sink, put the milk back in the fridge, and followed her out to the truck.

Neither of them spoke during the ride over to the mansion. The security guard at the front gate had to call Lex to confirm it was okay to let them in, but then he took them up to the study, where Lex was already up and working at his computer at his desk.

Martha decided she would need to model for Clark how a conversation should take place. "Good morning, Lex. Sorry to bother you so early."

Lex closed his laptop and came around to the front of his desk, and for the first time since they'd arrived, Martha was able to get a good look at him. There were deep purple circles under each eye, and the bridge of his nose was bruised and slightly swollen. When he stepped toward them, he limped slightly. Clark's split lip was nothing—it wasn't even noticeable now.

"No worries at all, Mrs. Kent," Lex said. "Morning, Clark. It's good to see you."

Clark just glared at him.

Martha took a deep breath. "How are you feeling?"

"Ah, I've had worse. How are you? I heard about what happened at the farm, is everyone okay?"

"We're all fine. Thank you for asking." She wondered if Lex had asked Clark the same thing. "How is your father doing?"

"It's been tough, but I'm sure he'll pull through." Lex looked back and forth between Martha and Clark. "I suppose you're here to talk about yesterday?"

Martha nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to hear your side of the story, because—"

"We want the truth, you coward." Clark took a step toward Lex.

Lex flinched. Visibly.

Martha's eyes widened. "Um, I'm ashamed that I'm having to say this, but . . . Lex, you have my word that if my son hits you during this conversation, other than in self defense, he will be grounded for a month. We're here to _talk_."

Both Lex and Clark blushed furiously. Lex stammered, "Th-that won't be necessary, Mrs. Kent."

"You're not his mother, young man. It's not up to you to decide what's necessary for my son."

"He hit me, too," Clark muttered.

Martha nodded. "Fine. Lex, if you hit my son outside of self defense, Jonathan and I will press charges."

Lex flushed an even deeper red, but he swallowed and straightened up. "About yesterday . . . Clark, you were right about my reasons for checking the security footage. I did suspect you were keeping secrets, and I was going behind your back to try to figure them out. I've told you before that—" his eyes flicked toward Martha, then back at Clark— "that there's a darkness inside of me, and I'm ashamed to say I haven't exactly been successful at keeping my inner demons at bay. But I should never have suspected you of lying to me. You, ah . . . you proved me wrong. I'm sorry."

Martha's brow furrowed. "Lex, I would expect—"

"Nice try, Lex," Clark said. "Now tell us the whole story, about how you're the real reason why those psychos escaped and came after my family."

Martha shot Clark a look—he knew better than to interrupt his mother, and now he'd done it twice. "As I was saying. Lex, I would expect you to check the security cameras after your lab was broken into. I don't think that's what Clark is upset about."

"Forgive me, Mrs. Kent, but I'm not clear on what exactly what the accusations are. Clark, I was, uh . . . a little distracted while you were spelling them out."

"Well, Clark told me—"

"You let those psychos escape from Belle Reve and made a deal with them to threaten my family so I'd have to break into your lab to steal the meteor rock serum!"

That was the third time. "Please excuse us for a moment, Lex. I need a word alone with my son."

"Of course."

Martha took Clark by the arm and walked him out into the hall.

"See? I _told_ you he'd be like this."

She took his ear between her finger and thumb, careful not to pinch too hard—he still didn't have his powers, and she didn't want to hurt him. "Clark Jerome Kent, I love you more than life itself, but if you interrupt me again, so help me, I will drive you home and put your nose in a corner."

He winced. _"Mom!_ I'm eighteen!"

"My point exactly. Let me know when you're ready to have an adult conversation, and we'll go back in."

"Why are you taking his side?"

"Sweetheart, we haven't even _heard_ his side yet."

His nostrils flared. "Fine. I'll listen."

Martha let go of his ear, and he rubbed it as they walked back into the study. She counted to ten in her head as they walked back, and she gave Lex a curt smile. "I'm not sure where we left off."

"Clark was saying I made a deal with the escaped Belle Reve inmates? I don't understand, Clark, did they say something about me?"

"No," Clark said. "You were at Belle Reve the day they escaped."

"I'm there most days, checking in on my father. If you'd like to see the security tapes at Belle Reve . . . ah, I'm not sure it's strictly allowed, but I might be able to pull a few strings, if it would set your mind at ease. And, ah, if that doesn't work out, I might be able to get you in to visit the inmates. If I did manipulate them somehow, I'm sure they'd be happy to tell you all about it."

Clark just stared at him, jaw dropped.

"But Clark . . . you're my best friend. I would never do something that would endanger you or your family. No matter how curious I am. I've told you before that you're like a brother to me, and that I haven't felt Julian's loss nearly as much since we've been friends. None of that's changed."

"I, uh . . ." Clark grimaced.

Martha waited for Clark to continue, hopefully to reciprocate in some way. When it was clear he wasn't going to say anything, she stepped in. "I'm . . . so sorry about your injuries, Lex. The Kents have an old family recipe for an herbal tea that relieves pain. We usually use it for muscle soreness, but I'm sure it would help with, um . . ."

"That would be great, Mrs. Kent."

"Great. I'll have Clark bring you a thermos at lunchtime." She turned to her son. "Clark?"

Clark sighed. "Sorry, Lex."

"Accepted, but not necessary, Clark. I'm only hoping you'll forgive me for the part I played in this. Maybe, uh . . . maybe later, we can talk things out a little more. I'd love to rebuild our friendship." He held out a hand for Clark to shake.

Clark shook his hand, but he only held eye contact with Lex for a couple of seconds before dropping his gaze.

Martha put a hand on his back. "Go wait for me in the truck, sweetheart?"

Clark nodded and left the study.

Lex watched him, concern in his eyes, before Martha cleared her throat. His eyes snapped back to her.

She smiled gently. "I know you see him like a brother, Lex, but he might be a little young to be your best friend."

"There aren't exactly any other contenders."

Something about the way he said it chilled her. She had to resist the urge to hug him.

"I appreciate you coming by, Mrs. Kent, but you didn't have to do this."

"Yes, I did. He's my son, and you've been a good mentor to him. I wouldn't want him to lose you."

"I'm not sure he'll want to . . . ah . . ."

She glanced back at the direction Clark had gone and smiled. "He's a teenager. He's embarrassed. But he'll get over it."

Lex nodded, but his eyebrows were still knitted together.

"Give him a little time." Martha squeezed his arm. "He'll come around."

"Mrs. Kent . . . I was serious about that darkness inside of me. I'm not sure I'm the kind of person you want to encourage your son to be around."

"Everyone has a dark side."

"Mine is different."

"Well, if that's true, you've done well fighting it so far. I expect you to keep up the fight, young man."

Lex took a deep breath, straightening up a little and nodding. "I will."

"Good." She gave him her best mom-stare. "Now, you take care of yourself."

"You too. And thank you, Mrs. Kent."

She patted his shoulder a couple of times before following Clark out to the truck.

Clark was already sitting in the passenger's seat, his brow furrowed. She slid into the driver's side, and his head dropped a little.

"Sorry, Mom," he whispered, then even softer: "You were right."

She gently reached over and took his broad hand in both of her own. His hands had always been too smooth for the son of a farmer. That would change if he didn't regain his powers, but she had a feeling he would, sooner or later. "I'm proud of you, you know."

"Why?"

"Because admitting it when you're wrong is hard. It's not something Kents usually do."

He was quiet for a moment before answering. "If I don't, I lose my best friend."

Martha squeezed his hand, leaned over to kiss his cheek, and drove them home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Possibly the most fun I've ever had writing a fanfic. Please let me know your thoughts! I don't have any immediate plans to continue this storyline, so if you'd like to see more in this vein, let me know. (That is, specifically, if you want to see more of Martha's mediation through the rift. Check out "If He Knew" for a long-term friendship fic between Clark and Lex, "If She Looked Over" for sweet maternal interactions between Lex and Martha culminating in a familial bond, and "How to Be a Friend" or "Enmity" for a darker take on Clark's termination of his friendship with Lex.)


End file.
